The purpose of this thread is to provide you with quick and easy answers to basic questions you may have about Limited play, as well as supply useful links that can help you develop as a Limited player. If you are aware of something you think this thread is missing, please feel free to send me a Private Message.
A booster draft typically consists of eight players with three packs of product each. Players are randomly seated around a table. Each player opens their first pack, looks at the pack (while keeping the contents hidden from the other players), then picks one card. They then pass the cards to the player to their left, who takes one card from the pack and passes the rest. Proceed until all cards have been picked. This is repeated for the next pack, only the cards are passed to the right instead of to the left. For the third pack, the cards are once again passed to the left. After the draft, players usually have 10-20 minutes to construct their decks of 40 cards, and they are free to add as many basic lands as they want.
1B - Sealed Deck
Sealed deck is pretty simple stuff. You open six booster packs with which you typically have 20-30 minutes to build your deck of 40 cards. You are free to add as many basic lands to your deck (and sideboard) as you want. Note that prereleases can deviate from the norm. It is suggested that you read up on the prerelease format if you're unsure; detailed information can usually be found in the Rumor Mill.
1C - Team Draft
Team Draft is a common way to draft with your friends against other players at larger events. It's just like a booster draft, other than that it is usually done with six players (two teams of three players) rather than eight, and the teams are seated so that no player is sitting next to a teammate (Team 1 occupies seats A, C, E; Team B occupies seats B, D, F). Communication between teammates is not allowed during the draft, but during deckbuilding teammates are free to help each other. However, the players can only use the cards they drafted themselves.
1D - Team Sealed
Three teammates share a pool of twelve boosters that they have to build three decks from, with a time limit of one hour in most cases. Beyond that, 2HG sealed works like sealed deck.
1E - Two-Headed Giant Draft
2HG drafts are typically done with pods of four teams. Teammates are seated together, have a total of six packs, and pick from the same pack, two cards at a time. They are allowed to communicate throughout the entire process (both draft and deckbuilding), and they share the pool of drafted cards, which they use to build two 40-card decks. Beyond that, 2HG drafts work like booster drafts.
1F - Two-Headed Giant Sealed
2HG sealed pools consist of eight packs that constitute a shared pool of cards that the teammates are to build two 40-card decks from. Beyond that, 2HG sealed works like sealed deck.
1G - Rochester Draft
This way to draft is mostly a thing of the past, but here's how it worked:
Players are either seated randomly, or the players choose their seating in the order of standings within the event (1st seeded player chooses first, 2nd seeded player chooses second, etc).
Player A opens their first pack face up. The players get somewhere in the region of 20 seconds to review the packs before they start picking.
Player A quickly picks a card, then player B, then C, etc, until they get to player H, who picks two cards. Then the order is switched; player G picks a card, player F picks a card, etc, until all the cards have been taken.
Player B then opens their first pack, same procedure as with Player A's pack, only that this time, Player A gets the eight and ninth pick.
The order of opening the booster packs follows the same pattern. For the first pack, the order is A-H; for the second pack, the order is H-A; for the third pack, the order is A-H again.
Deckbuilding is like with regular booster draft.
1H - Team Rochester Draft
Team Rochester is essentially a combination of Rochester Draft and Team Draft; there are two teams of three that are seated next to each other (Team 1 occupies seats E, F, A; Team B occupies seats B, C, D). The draft procedure is the same as in Rochester Draft, and as of 2006, verbal communication during the draft is allowed (prior to this, only signs and gestures were permitted). The players then each build a 40-card deck from the cards they drafted (no shared pool). Usually in Team Rochester, there is only one match per draft, where the players face the player on the opposite side of the draft table.
1I - Minimaster
The ultimate timekiller, Minimaster has also been a tournament format from time to time (though not a serious one at that). Two players each open a booster pack face down, adds two basic lands of each basic land type to the pile, then shuffle and play. Variants of Minimaster allow you to shuffle your graveyard into your library when you would otherwise get decked (i.e. draw a card from a library with 0 cards in it), others allow you to do this only once, yet others don't allow you to do so at all, but you also don't lose to decking. Make sure you and the opponent agree on which ruleset you are using first!
1J - Winston Draft
A popular two-player format for frequent travelers. Here's how it works:
Open sicks booster packs face down and shuffle them together in a face-down pile as a ~90-card deck.
Take the top three cards of the deck and put them face down next to the deck. These are piles A, B, C (one card in each to begin with).
The starting player (decided at random) looks at pile A. They may choose to pick that pile. If they don't, they add the top card of the deck to the pile, and look at pile B. They may choose to pick that pile. If they don't, they add the top card of the deck to the pile, and look at pile C. They may choose to pick that pile. If they don't, they add the top card of the deck to the pile, then add the top card of the deck to their draft pool. It is now the next player's turn. Continue until all the cards have been drafted.
The players each build a deck of 40 cards (including as many basic lands as they want).
If there are more than one card in a pile that you want to pick, you get all the cards in that pile.
1K - Winchester Draft
Winchester Draft is another two-player format, and very similar to Winston draft. Here's how it works:
Open sicks booster packs face down and shuffle them together in a face-down pile as a ~90-card deck.
Take the top four cards of the deck and put them face up next to the deck.
Roll a die to decide who goes first (winner of die roll decides).
In turn, the players choose a pile to pick. After each pick, a new card is added to each pile. Continue until all the cards have been drafted.
The players each build a deck of 40 cards (including as many basic lands as they want).
If there are more than one card in a pile that you want to pick, you get all the cards in that pile.
1L - Rotisserie Draft
A Rotisserie Draft typically means drafting all the cards of an entire set. The easiest way to explain it is to imagine a single pack that contains one of each card in a particular set or format, and rochester draft it (see #1G). The players then each build a deck of 40 cards (including as many basic lands as they want).
1M - Backdraft
This is the same as a booster draft, other than that you exchange pools with your opponent prior to each round (with in the region of 15 minutes to build a deck). After the match, the pools are returned to their owner. Because of this, your objective is to draft the worst possible draft pool, where it is impossible to cobble together a cohesive deck!
If I have more than 4 of the same card, can I play all of them in my Limited deck?
Yes. If you are lucky enough to have drafted/opened five Lightning Bolts, you get to play all five should you choose to do so! (And who wouldn't?)
How many lands should I play?
It depends, but a good place to start is 17. You can go down to 16 if your spells are cheap or if you've got a few cheap nonland spells that help your mana out (such as Llanowar Elves or Rampant Growth), and you can go up to 18 if your deck has a lot of expensive cards and things to do with its mana.
How many sources do I need for a splash?
You should generally have at least 3 sources for a splash unless you have a few ways to get rid of it if you can't cast it, or if the splashed card is a morph (or otherwise does something even if you don't have the color(s) for it). For example, if you're RU splashing black for Silumgar, the Drifting Death, and have a couple of Tormenting Voices, you can get away with running only two black sources. And if you are GB splashing blue for Sagu Mauler, you can very easily get away with two blue sources as well, since it's not a dead card even if you don't have the blue. If you are splashing for a card you want to cast early, however, like Anafenza, the Foremost in an otherwise GW deck, a couple extra black sources would be recommended, otherwise you are unlikely to be able to cast it on time. This will in most cases negatively impact your main colors' manabase, however, and splashes for early game cards are therefore generally not recommended.
What is BREAD?
BREAD refers to a rule of thumb many use during a draft, and it refers to the order in which you should pick up certain cards:
Bombs
Removal
Evasion
Aggro
Dregs/duds
For an in-depth explanation of each of these, I'll refer you to this article by Melissa DeTora. Note that BREAD is far from being accepted as the premier Limited strategy, but it is a useful tool for newer drafters.
How do I make Magic Online save my draftlogs?
Here's a screenshot. Check the box next to "Auto Save Draft Logs", choose destination folder, and you're good to go!
What is a curve?
Curve refers to the distribution of casting cost of spells in your deck, and "curving out" usually means playing a creature that costs two mana on turn 2, a creature that costs three mana on turn 3, and a creature that costs four mana on turn 4. A solid curve could look like this:
The reason why a good curve is advisable is that it makes the deck both strong and consistent. If you have too many expensive cards, you'll often risk not being able to play enough cards early on to keep up, and stumbling on mana could cost you the game. On the other hand, if you only have cheap spells, you'll risk your cards getting outclassed pretty quickly, and drawing too many lands could easily be game over. The importance of having a good curve depends on the format, but at no point is it something you shouldn't keep in mind.
How do I most effectively register my sealed pool?
Registering cards within the time limit that the tournament officials have set forth can be troublesome for the uninitiated, so here's a quick rundown of what you should do:
Open all the boosters.
Sort the entire pool by color & remove tokens and non-foil basic lands (foil basic lands must be registered).
Sort all the colors alphabetically.
Take one color at a time, slide them face-up at the table so that you can see all the cards, and register them. Count the cards you've registered and the physical cards in the pool after every time you've registered a color.
Use the time you have left to double check that you've done everything right.
This method will let you finish registration in good time while not having to stress about it.
The Limited Clan on MTG Salvation consists of various sealed and draft enthusiasts, often from the Limited subforum, and is a place to talk about anything under the sun with your fellow forumites. Of course, since the members are avid Limited players, the topic is often Limited, but anything goes (as long as the General Forum Rules are upheld). Do feel free to join! Promatim is the clan leader, and he typically accepts new members to the clan after their second post.
The concept of hatedrafting is a controversial subject, and the Hatedrafting Thread includes a lot of information on the subject if you want to read up on it or talk about it.
Similarly to the Hatedrafting Thread, the Milling Thread runs down the concept of milling (putting the top card of an opponent's deck into their graveyard) as a win condition and why milling is typically not recommended. Read if you're curious, post if you have a comment or question!
If you have a draft or sealed pool you want input on, look no further. Post your sealed pool or draftcap here, and other members will offer help and (hopefully!) constructive criticism.
Postmortem threads
These threads serve as a wrap-up of a current format that's about to be phased out in favor of the next. It includes users' final thoughts on the format, and is as such an excellent resource when that format is revisited. Similarly, you can use the Flashback prefix filter to find discussion threads on old draft formats. It is preferred if you use these alread-existing threads for discussion on old formats instead of creating a new one (unless, of course, there is no thread for the format you wish to talk about).
Hosted by Pro Tour commentator Marshall Sutcliffe and Hall of Famer Luis Scott-Vargas, Limited Resources is the most popular podcast about all things Limited. Their target audience is the up-and-coming Limited player who wants to improve their game, and there is a new show every week.
ChannelFireball usually posts about one draft video a day from one of its many contributors. Some of these are among the best in the game, such as Owen Turtenwald, William Jensen, Luis Scott-Vargas.
Many players stream Limited Magic frequently, including players like Paul Cheon, Michael Jacob, Jon Finkel. Kenji Egashira is another popular and frequent streamer of Limited events. Additionally, Grand Prix livestreams during the weekend are broadcast on Twitch, and many of these are Limited events. Lastly, all Pro Tours include two draft portions. Those streams can be watched on twitch.tv/magic.
The purpose of this thread is to provide you with quick and easy answers to basic questions you may have about Limited play, as well as supply useful links that can help you develop as a Limited player. If you are aware of something you think this thread is missing, please feel free to send me a Private Message.
Contents:
- Limited Variant List
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Useful threads and resources on MTG Salvation
- Useful resources off-site
1 - Limited Variant List- Open sicks booster packs face down and shuffle them together in a face-down pile as a ~90-card deck.
- Take the top three cards of the deck and put them face down next to the deck. These are piles A, B, C (one card in each to begin with).
- The starting player (decided at random) looks at pile A. They may choose to pick that pile. If they don't, they add the top card of the deck to the pile, and look at pile B. They may choose to pick that pile. If they don't, they add the top card of the deck to the pile, and look at pile C. They may choose to pick that pile. If they don't, they add the top card of the deck to the pile, then add the top card of the deck to their draft pool. It is now the next player's turn. Continue until all the cards have been drafted.
- The players each build a deck of 40 cards (including as many basic lands as they want).
If there are more than one card in a pile that you want to pick, you get all the cards in that pile.- Open sicks booster packs face down and shuffle them together in a face-down pile as a ~90-card deck.
- Take the top four cards of the deck and put them face up next to the deck.
- Roll a die to decide who goes first (winner of die roll decides).
- In turn, the players choose a pile to pick. After each pick, a new card is added to each pile. Continue until all the cards have been drafted.
- The players each build a deck of 40 cards (including as many basic lands as they want).
If there are more than one card in a pile that you want to pick, you get all the cards in that pile.How many lands should I play?
How many sources do I need for a splash?
What is BREAD?
- Bombs
- Removal
- Evasion
- Aggro
- Dregs/duds
For an in-depth explanation of each of these, I'll refer you to this article by Melissa DeTora. Note that BREAD is far from being accepted as the premier Limited strategy, but it is a useful tool for newer drafters.How do I make Magic Online save my draftlogs?
What is a curve?
How do I most effectively register my sealed pool?
- Open all the boosters.
- Sort the entire pool by color & remove tokens and non-foil basic lands (foil basic lands must be registered).
- Sort all the colors alphabetically.
- Take one color at a time, slide them face-up at the table so that you can see all the cards, and register them. Count the cards you've registered and the physical cards in the pool after every time you've registered a color.
- Use the time you have left to double check that you've done everything right.
This method will let you finish registration in good time while not having to stress about it.- Clan [Limited]
The Limited Clan on MTG Salvation consists of various sealed and draft enthusiasts, often from the Limited subforum, and is a place to talk about anything under the sun with your fellow forumites. Of course, since the members are avid Limited players, the topic is often Limited, but anything goes (as long as the General Forum Rules are upheld). Do feel free to join! Promatim is the clan leader, and he typically accepts new members to the clan after their second post.
- The Hatedrafting Thread
The concept of hatedrafting is a controversial subject, and the Hatedrafting Thread includes a lot of information on the subject if you want to read up on it or talk about it.
- The Milling Thread
Similarly to the Hatedrafting Thread, the Milling Thread runs down the concept of milling (putting the top card of an opponent's deck into their graveyard) as a win condition and why milling is typically not recommended. Read if you're curious, post if you have a comment or question!
- Sealed Pool and Draftcap Discussion
If you have a draft or sealed pool you want input on, look no further. Post your sealed pool or draftcap here, and other members will offer help and (hopefully!) constructive criticism.
- Postmortem threads
These threads serve as a wrap-up of a current format that's about to be phased out in favor of the next. It includes users' final thoughts on the format, and is as such an excellent resource when that format is revisited. Similarly, you can use the Flashback prefix filter to find discussion threads on old draft formats. It is preferred if you use these alread-existing threads for discussion on old formats instead of creating a new one (unless, of course, there is no thread for the format you wish to talk about).- Rise of the Eldrazi
- Khans of Tarkir
- Fate Reforged
- Dragons of Tarkir
- Modern Masters 2015
- Battle for Zendikar
4 - Useful resources off-site